Siobhan McAndrew: When a B in a class isn't enough

If Mariana Jacinto gets a B in her government class at the end of this semester, she knows her mother isn't going to be happy.

Mariana, 17, is a senior at Sparks High School and the youngest of four born to parents who didn't finish high school.

She goes to the lowest-ranked high school in the Washoe County School District, where more than 30 percent of the Class of 2013 didn't graduate and more than one-third of the current seniors weren't on track to graduate when school began in August.

The odds seem against Mariana, who very well could be another missed opportunity in a school district, state and country that struggles to educate its young people.

This week, new world rankings showed that U.S. 15-year-olds are 36th in math when compared to 64 other nations.

Mariana is ranked in the top 20 of her class and is fighting for a top 10 spot by working as hard as she can in the next few weeks to pull up the B she currently has in her government class. She also is the student body president and works with elementary school kids after school every day until 6 p.m.

Mariana had the courage to voice her opinion regarding a big problem with education.

She has teachers that work hard. She said her school has an administration that cares, including principal Kevin Carroll, who took over Sparks High School this year.

"If I have a B, I will get in trouble," she said. "When my friends aren't doing well, it's because their parents are letting them slide."

Superintendent Pedro Martinez said one of the district's goals in the new year is to make the families of the children he educates realize the importance of finishing high school and going to college.

Even Mariana said her family realized this in time for her future. Her older brother and two sisters didn't do as well in school. Her family looks to Mariana as the one who will become a success because of her education.

Her parents see the value of an education they didn't have the chance to get, she said. Both grew up in a town in Mexico that had no other opportunities beyond elementary school.

Mariana hopes to be an accountant, loves numbers and does well in her math classes.

Bs aren't bad, but we should thank her parents for not letting it be enough.

Coming Wednesday: Read more about Mariana Jacinto when the Reno Gazette-Journal launches a series of stories on the Class of 2014.

Siobhan McAndrew can be reached at smcandrew@rgj.com or on twitter @siobhanmcandrew.

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Siobhan McAndrew: When a B in a class isn't enough

If Mariana Jacinto gets a B in her government class at the end of this semester, she knows her mother isn't going to be happy.

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